Friday, April 19, 2013

Things I meant to comment on (up to speed edition)

Ramblings Post #224The line is "life comes at you fast." Yes, I know it's from an insurance commercial, but that doesn't make it any less true. And as I understand it, that end of April has been, a least for the last few decades, a very busy time of the year. The Oklahoma City Bombing, the Columbine Massacre and now the Boston Marathon all happened in the latter part of the month. Spring brings new things...and not all of them good. As such a few things might have gotten short shrift, at least from my perspective. I just wanted to say a few things, about those and about those things which are dominating our outlook.

Me...

At my internship down at the Courthouse I did my first hearing, eventually getting the charges dismissed for my client. Mostly what I had been handling up to that point were what are called "diversions", wherein the state offers counseling or community service for first time offenders. If you've ever been in court it's all the hustling and bustling the lawyers do from table to table. Occasionally, because circumstances vary from case to case, we have an actual hearing, and this time I was up to bat. In my case I had the law on my side, wrote out my argument before hand to keep it all straight and during kept my questions to the point. I also got a lot of help from one the better lawyers in the office. Still, everyone thought I did a fairly good job. Yay me.

Pat Summerall

Pat Summerall passed away, and I am sad. He was, for lack of a better term, John Madden's comedic straight man in the broadcast booth. The duo was so good it's the only reason I'd watch the film the Replacements again, as they do the game commentary. As far as announcer's go, Summerall was truly one of the greats, his voice carrying a certain resonance that gave the sport the gravity it deserved. For twenty two years, with his rambunctious partner doing the color, the man simply sounded like football.

Summerall and Madden - Football. Period.

Waco, Texas.

Fertilizer Plant explosion. Had this happened a month a from now, this would be an indictment, a litany of characteristic flaws in the "minimalist form of government" touted as needed by so many. This lesson will be lost in the media storm. Start with Texas' sudden request for federal aid for a disaster caused by a private company after their insistence that New York and New Jersey be denied aid after the natural disaster of Hurricane Sandy. This is the height of hypocrisy. Add to that everything from the sketchy inspections to the cartoon-ish and dangerous zoning, there are so many things wrong with this picture.

Zoning? We don't need no government enforcing no Zoning! We're smart!

A Boston Comment...

If the people who described the Boston bombing suspects as dark skinned...could perhaps define dark skinned, that would be nice. I'm just saying. Especially since in the photos I've seen the two suspects look like they wouldn't cause anyone to clutch their purse a little tighter.

And, seriously, I'm hoping that this manhunt isn't a panacea for the masses, and that these really are the guys. Not that I believe in any conspiracy to commit this act, I do however understand the need for national emotional closure. But in this case, well, really in any case, closing something out just to soothe our souls would be wrong.

Makes you put all that ridiculous celebrity news that we get inundated with in context, don't it?